Two stations on Dubai Metro Expo 2020 route to open on June 1

Dubai Investments Park and Expo 2020 metro stations will be open on Route 2020 of the Metro Red Line from June 1.

The long-awaited move means trains will shuttle directly between Al Rashidiya metro station and the Expo 2020 station from this date.

Jebel Ali Station will be an interchange station for those heading to or coming from UAE Exchange Station – the last stop on the Red Line, the Roads and Transport Authority said.

But only those with clearance to access the Expo site in Dubai South will be permitted to use the two until the official opening of the World Fair in October.

The RTA announced the move on Saturday and said the underground Jumeirah Golf Estates station on the Expo route will open to coincide with the event’s launch in October.

“The opening of the two stations on Route 2020 concurs with the start of the countdown of Dubai’s hosting of Expo 2020,” said Mattar Al Tayer, director general of the RTA.

“It follows the successful completion of all tests relating to the performance efficiency and safety of the rail systems.”

Travel time between Al Rashidiya and Expo 2020 stations will be an hour and 14 minutes.

The frequency of trains will be two minutes and 28 seconds during peak hours on the main line between the Al Rashidiya and Expo 2020 route.

The new route serves districts populated by 270,000 people.

The two new stations were launched six months after the opening of Route 2020. The seven stations on the route are: Jebel Ali Station; The Gardens Station; Discovery Gardens Station; Al Furjan Station; Jumeirah Golf Estates Station; Dubai Investments Park Station; and Expo Station.

Only Jebel Ali; The Gardens; Discovery Gardens; and Al Furjan are open to the public for now.

Twenty-four trains with a capacity of 16,000 passengers will ply every hour in each direction during peak hours between Al Rashidiya and the Expo stations.

RTA studies show the Expo station will record about 35,000 daily visitors to the World Fair during weekdays with the numbers rising to 47,000 daily visitors at the weekend.

Travellers on the metro will account for 29 per cent of the expected daily visitors.

The Expo 2020 Station has a design resembling the wings of a plane to symbolise Dubai's innovation drive.

With three boarding platforms, the station will serve 29,000 passengers every hour during the peak hours and about 522,000 people per day.

It is linked with six bus stops, 20 taxi stands and four parking slots for people of determination.

The Dubai Investments Park station is underground with two platforms, four bus spots, 20 taxi stands and two parking slots for people with special needs.

It can accommodate 13,899 travellers per hour during the peak and 250,000 riders per day.

Jumeirah Golf Estates station is the biggest underground metro station across the metro network.

It has the capacity to handle 11,555 people an hour during peak travel and about 250,000 riders a day.

The RTA also announced the schedule for services from June, with the first train leaving Al Rashidiya and the Expo 2020 stations at 5am from Saturday to Wednesday and the last journey will be at midnight.

On Thursday, the first train will leave at 5am and the last at 1.30am the next day. The schedule for Friday is from 10am to 1.30am the next day.

The Green line service will begin at 5am with a frequency of five minutes during peak hours.